Former Indian World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh hailed Shivam Dube for his outstanding performance against Afghanistan in the first T20 International on Thursday. The 30-year-old scored a match-winning knock against Ibrahim Zadran’s team in Mohali, helping India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series.
Shivam Dube was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance with both bat and ball in the series opener. The left-handed all-rounder had a career-best T20I performance in Mohali, scoring an undefeated 60 off 40 balls, including two sixes and five fours.
The Mumbai-born cricketer also demonstrated his abilities, giving away only nine runs in two overs, picking up a solitary wicket.
Harbhajan Singh believes that Shivam Dube can become a consistent option for Team India as a pace-bowling all-rounder, an area where they have struggled in terms of alternatives across formats over the years and lauded the players for playing in tough conditions, where both the team players struggled to sight ball in Mohali.
“One major change that I saw in Shivam Dube was his bowling pace, he has added a bit of it into his bowling now. His pace has definitely improved and he has clearly worked on his fitness. He can be the long-term pace bowling all-rounder that India are looking for. If Shivam Dube scores runs in the remaining matches as well, it will be difficult to ignore him,” Harbhajan Singh said.
“I laud the players for playing in such cold conditions, even the spectators as well who came to see the match in such weather. I used to also play in similar conditions during my career, whether it be in Mohali or Dharamsala, and it can be tricky at times,” Harbhajan Singh maintained.
Shivam Dube was benched for the three-game home series against Australia before being dropped from the team for the South Africa tour. However, he returned for the Afghanistan series and made the starting XI for the first game which could be an option for the team going into the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The Afghanistan Batters Played Way Too Slow In The Powerplay – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh believes that Afghanistan batters played too slowly in the powerplay, demonstrating a lack of intent in the game and that no batters other than experienced Mohammad Nabi could trouble the Indian bowlers. He asserted that the conditions were difficult to bowl in cold Mohali.
“The Afghanistan batters played way too slow in the powerplay, they hardly played any attacking shots. Apart from Nabi, no other batter could do much to trouble the Indian bowlers. 158 was never going to be a safe total because the pitch is quite good to bat on, and it was difficult for the bowlers to bowl in the cold conditions,” Harbhajan Singh added.
The Indian new ball bowlers restricted the Afghanistan batters in the powerplay. Arshdeep Singh set the pace with a magnificent maiden over to begin, while Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel kept things tight as well.
However, the visitors managed only 33 runs in the opening six overs, with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and stand-in skipper Ibrahim Zadran failing to get a crucial start in the game.
